Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley won his court case over an alleged £15 million bonus deal made in a pub

LONDON —
Sports Direct founder and billionaire Mike Ashley won his £15 million High Court dispute over an alleged promise made in a pub.
Former advisor Jeff Blue claimed Ashley had promised to pay him £15 million if he could help double the company’s share price, from £4 to £8, over drinks during a night out in 2013.

Blue said he had only been paid £1 million of the full amount promised to him.

Ashley said in court testimony earlier this month that he didn’t recall making such a pledge. “Things were said. I don’t remember what I said,” Ashley said on July 6. “It’s banter, it’s fun.”

The judge, Mr Justice Leggatt, commented on Blue’s optimism, according to media reports:

The visit to the Horse & Groom pub in 2013, when the promise was said to have been made, was part of Blue’s efforts to land a new corporate broker for Sports Direct after Merrill Lynch resigned. The pace of drinking was fast, according to Ashley.

“The second pint would probably be between 10 and, at most, 15 minutes,” Ashley said. “The third pint is, what, 30 minutes-ish? Are you slowing down then? Within the first hour you would have had between four and five pints.”

The extraordinary trial shone a light on Mike Ashley’s unconventional business style and his capacity for drink.